What National Culture Teaches Us About Mission Command
Dave Maxwell
Mon, 03/04/2024 - 7:29am
Mission Command was made in America. While the formal term Mission Command was not coined until 2003, it has been in practice throughout American military history. Three core tenets of Mission Command are Commander’s Intent, Mutual Trust, and Common Understanding. In essence: Commanders communicate intent; subordinates must understand this intent and then determine how it is best accomplished. A bedrock of mutual trust bolsters and strengthens relationships between commanders and subordinates, and optimizes the execution of commander’s intent on the battlefield. According to Army doctrine, “Mission command is the approach to command and control that empowers subordinate decision making and decentralized execution appropriate to the situation.” Mission Command is how the Joint Force grants agency to the lowest appropriate echelon.
